Outspoken Demario Davis drops to one knee when players get hurt

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Demario Davis may be an outspoken leader of the New York Jets locker room but there are times when the best thing he can do is simply be quiet. He did that most recently this past Sunday in the fourth quarter of the Jets blowout of the Cleveland Browns.

Davis had just seen teammate Lorenzo Mauldin fall to the ground and lay their motionless, the result of a play where the Jets rookie linebacker had forced a fumble but also had suffered a blow to the head. Mauldin wasn't moving and everyone in MetLife Stadium from players to fans feared for the worst case scenario. As his teammates watched the team doctors and training staff work on Mauldin for several minutes to finally get him on a stretcher, Davis did the one thing he could do.

Anyone who has talked to the Jets linebacker for a few minutes is likely to stumble across his faith in some way, shape of form; Davis very outspoken about his beliefs but there are moments when it is best to simply be quiet and be humble. And when he sees a player down on the field, such as Mauldin on Sunday, it means praying. It doesn't matter if it is a Jet or an opponent, even someone he was trying to tackle a few moments before.

His spirit tells him to pray. So he does.

"I pray that there is the least amount of severeness to it," Davis said.

"Anytime I see a player go down, sometimes you can't tell who it is. I ask God to cover them, protect them and that it won't be as bad. Comfort them and heal them, be with them. I feel like you can lessen the blow of the impact by praying over it."

He says he always drops to one knee to pray and that he doesn't make the prayer about victories or asking God for a great game, simply to be with the injured player on the field.

There was a time recently when a teammate had a bad knee injury and it was feared to be season-ending. Davis prayed that time as well and remembers his teammate being back on the field days later.

"I just try to cover those guys when they're on the ground," Davis said.

"Just pray. When someone gets injured, just pray that the Lord protects them as best as they can."